Huge fire engulfed the second floor of Than Zay in Lathar Township for about four hours and firefighters rescued 85 people trapped in apartments, according to Myanmar Fire Services Department (MFSD).

The fire started from shops selling clothes located on the second floor of Than Zay about 6 am on February 20 and it spread within minutes.

Smokes entered nearby apartments and fire fighters moved people living nearby.

All fire engines from Yangon Region came to put out the fire as the MFSD classified it as a level-5 fire break out.

The upper floors of the building, which started the fire, are residential apartments and they waved white clothes to ask for help.

Most of the people rescued by the fire fighters are elderly people and some were given medical attendance due to smoke.

More than ten firefighters had injuries in the accident.

The fire was being controlled after 9:30 am and finally put out around 10 am.

Although Yangon Book Plaza is located in Than Zay, the fire is not spread to its floor.

“We are lucky that the fire didn’t spread to our floor. We have so many books and they can make the fire worse. The books are wet but it will be worse if the fire spreads to our floor,” said Writer Myay Mone Lwin, owner of Yangon Book Plaza.

“We need practice in the fire break out. If we know the disaster early, we can control it,” said Mayor Maung Maung Soe.

The fire was not spread to other floors and authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.

“We are estimating the loss and investigating the cause of fire. We used ladder trucks to rescue people trapped in the upper floors of the building. We used 118 fire engines and water bowsers to put out the fire. The fire destroyed eight sides of the second floor completely. About 60 shops are destroyed,” said an official from the MFSD.

Goods in other floors are moved to other places and authorities closed the market at the present.